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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"

- Luke 13:1-9

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I
am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace
on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on
five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against
three. Father will be divided against son and son against father,
mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law
against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law." Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising
out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it
is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot
weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the
sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When
you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along
the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge
deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I
tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very
last mite."

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus
answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were
worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such
things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise
perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed
them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who
dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all
likewise perish." My study bible says that the two incidents named here by Jesus are reported only in Luke's Gospel. The Galileans, it suggests, were probably Zealots, Jewish nationalists, who triggered some disturbance against the Romans. The collapse of the tower in Siloam, by accient or sabotage, was believed to be divine justice on sinners. But Jesus says no to such an interpretation of either event. He uses them instead as illustrations of the need for repentance for all. We remember He is warning about the Judgment to come, and the time that is 'at hand.'

He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in
his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he
said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come
seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it
use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone
this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it
bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'" My study bible says that the fruitless fig tree is universally interpreted in the Church to be fallen humanity. The three years represent God's covenants with His people through Abraham, Moses, and Christ, all of which are rejected, as well as the three year-earthly ministry of Christ. Christ is the keeper of the vineyard, who intercedes on our behalf by suffering His Passion and sending the Holy Spirit to us before the ultimate judgment.

Jesus speaks about Judgment. Earlier He has told His followers that they should rather fear Him who has power to cast into hell (Luke 12:5). The people assume that the terrible things that befall those around them are forms of Judgment, but Jesus warns everyone about the importance of repentance. It is a stark reminder of the plank in our own eye that we don't notice while we simply look at everyone else (Luke 6:42). We are to look to our own stand before God and consider where we are. He reminds the people of God's mercy: a delay in Judgment to allow for repentance. This is what the time period we are in is all about as we await His return, the Second Coming. The gift of the Holy Spirit, the acts of Passion, crucifixion, and Resurrection are all in service to this mercy, to calling us back, giving us time. He calls us as individuals, but there is also the dimension of the community He addresses here, and the community is all of us, the whole world. His sacrifice will be a gift to all of us to look at how we betray innocence and the good, what we do to a God who so loves us that He condescends to experience our reality, our suffering, a painful and humiliating death on the Cross. This is the act that begins the "new age" He initiates through the Incarnation. It is the sacrifice that sets down a clear picture of our injustice and betrayal of truth, down to the harm we do to the little ones in whom we are to see Him and God the Father (Mark 9:37). It calls us all to make choices, to think about what we do, to be aware of what justice asks for and where righteousness truly is. Christ will be used by others as a scapegoat (John 11:50). He will go willingly to this death and sacrifice. But He dies for all of us, all of the people. He is a witness for the truth that saves, for God who loves us. He testifies to the evil in the world, to call us to repentance and wakefulness. He is a martyr who leads the way for those who will follow Him, and He exposes the evil in our world. Will we feast at His table? Will we be the friends of this Bridegroom? Can we follow Him, and not be like the hypocrites? Some people find that Judgment (or the idea of it) is incompatible with the notion of God who is love. But Jesus tells us the opposite, that we are called to awareness of our lives, to choice, and to responsibility. He will do so through His own Passion, a sacrifice in which we participate when we take the Eucharist. How does your awareness of this shape your life? Does it call you to a humility that keeps you honest, or to a reliance on His help? How do we learn love, if not through Him who loved us first and left us with His new command to love?

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